• Exploring Erosion student handout
• Soil of various sizes, shapes, and colors and types such as sand, silt, and/or clay
• Spray bottle (optional)
• Water
• 2 clear cups or measuring cups
• Gardening tool such as a spade or other tool for gathering soil
• Trays (aluminum or lined cardboard box)
• Access to Internet (optional)
• Pen and paper

Soil is a living and life-sustaining natural resource that promotes plant growth, provides a habitat for living things, and stores water. It is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gasses, liquids, and organisms that work together to support life. This mixture results in a multitude of colors, giving bricks, pottery, and artwork a blend of different pigments.

The process of weathering is the transformation of rock into soil through physical, chemical, or biological processes. Erosion is the next step in the process where soil is displaced to another location through movement caused by water, wind, and/or ice. Some of the greatest natural wonders of the United States—including the Grand Canyon, Natural Bridges National Monument, and Devils Tower National Monument—were carved and transformed in part by erosion and deposition of soil over time.

1. Provide students with some information about soil and how erosion occurs.
2. Distribute a copy of the Exploring Erosion handout to each student.
3. Help students collect as many different types of soil of various sizes, shapes, and colors they can find, such as sand, silt, and/or clay.
4. Conduct the two experiments using the procedures outlined on the student handout.
5. If time allows, have students explore the USDA Agricultural website (www.ars.usda.gov); and write a narrative how soil erosion research makes a difference in dam safety, crop production, and water quality.

1. What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
2. Does soil makeup (e.g., soil type, organic matter, and chemicals) make a difference on the rate which a soil erodes? Why do students think this is?